Monday, November 21, 2005

Rickie Weeks, the #1 prospect three years running, no longer qualifies.

This is a pretty impressive list, but it’s extremely long on futures. Rogers, Gallardo, Escobar, and Inman are all very talented (as is Iribarren, who probably should be here, too), but none has played above low A-ball yet, and they all have a LONG way to go. To bet on any one of them at this point is betting on an extreme long shot.

If Corey Hart had a position, I’d put him higher on this list. The Brewers aren’t enamored with his glove at 3B, but he wouldn’t be any worse there than Garrett Atkins and they should at least take a look at him at the hot corner.

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I'm not saying that Iribarren is a top-notch prospect, but surely a .290/.360/.379 line from a second basemen is cause for more celebration than a .271/.305/.362 line from his double play partner...right? It's not like Escobar's defense is brilliant: "Escobar has the tools to be an above-average defender at shortstop" and "Escobar’s 41 errors ranked third in the minors, but Milwaukee isn’t worried about his defense." Not exactly ringing endorsements.

Smoltz went 4-10, 5.68 when he wass 20 (although it was at AA), walking 891, striking out 86.

Smoltzie appears to have harnessed his command a bit more since then...

Also from the chat, to elaborate on my previous post:

I just didn't get the feeling the Brewers were as high on Iribarren as others have been, including us. He's a skinny, skinny dude, and it's hard to project much power out of his frame and flat swing plane. That said, he can hit, he makes consistent hard contact and he can run. Best-case scenario, he's Luis Castillo. For that to work, though, Iribarren will have to develop a better eye at the plate; he needs to draw more walks to hit in the 2-hole, and he certainly has the kind of swing and approach that would allow him to have a patient, good 2-strike approach.

Eh? He had 51 walks in 537 PAs last year. He's 21.

Iribarren just hs to do more for me, I just think the slash-and-dash profile (with few walks) is a little limited.

Again...what the hell? Alcides Escobar walked 20 times in 540 PAs. I realize the offensive expectations for a shortstop are less than a second basemen, but come on.

I'm not saying that Iribarren is a top-notch prospect, but surely a .290/.360/.379 line from a second basemen is cause for more celebration than a .271/.305/.362 line from his double play partner...right?

Don't forget that BA places a lot of emphasis on how the teams look at their players, and in that respect, it's telling that the Brewers opted to send Escobar to the AFL, but not Iribarren. Escobar actually performed very well in Arizona, given his age and lack of experience; he wasn't overmatched out there.

Iribarren is also 2 1/2 years older than Escobar. Given that, I can see the logic for placing Escobar ahead of Iribarren.